New Kitchen

Let's start from the beginning, shall we?

We drove up to Montgomery (secret mission style) about a month ago in search of a rental house.

Time was of the essence... as we needed a place to live within about 3 weeks.

We knew we wanted to live in Old Cloverdale... it reminded us of Homewood... and it just seemed like a good fit.

So, our friends Taylor and Liz (best friend from college and her wonderful fiance) kindly offered to drive us around in search of a rental.

We drove...

and drove...

and drove...

but nothing was for rent.

Well, actually there was one house, but by the time we called on Monday it was gone.

This is when fear set in.

Liz and Taylor remembered that one of their friends owned a rental property --

and we soon found out that it would be available May 1st.

Perfect!

However,

I was rather nervous to rent a house that I'd never been in... but, as time went by, it was looking like I didn't have much of a choice.

This is the house:

Super cute, right?

Here is the kitchen:

Super Scary, right?

Lord. I almost started to cry.

*See Reed in background... wondering what to do about this "situation," while I'm freaking out (and of course) snapping away with my camera in order to hold back tears...

Anyways - Moving on.

Red cabinets, brown linoleum and wall paper? Oh my.

I decided I would have to call in my mother and her best friend, Nina Campbell, for reinforcements. In case you didn't know-- they are pros. PROS. They can do anything, and somehow I didn't inherit the talent that these two possess.

The day we moved in, the team got to work immediately.

I have so many before and afters it will knock your socks off.

It was like Extreme Home Makeover up in this joint.

I'll take you through the kitchen, first.

Here is After:

First, we primed and sealed the wallpaper with Kils.

Then, it was onto the cabinets. Mom and I stayed up most of the night painting these bad boys. I chose a shade of Valspar's Mark Twain Historic Olive, in a glossy oil. If anyone's interested, I can look at the top of the paint can to get the correct info. I absolutely love the color.

We replaced the hardware with simple (cheap) knobs and pulls from Lowes.

Next, we painted over the primed walls.

That in itself was a hugeeee improvement.

Reed hung our stainless pot holder/hanger (is that what it's called? I'm losin' it lately).

Next, we decided the washer and dryer had to be on the same wall. They were originally on opposite ends of the kitchen due to plumbing issues. So we called a plumber.

I mean-- come on!

One's washer and dryer shouldn't be in the kitchen to begin with... but if there's no way around it, let's at least have them next to each other, K?

Then we moved the fridge.

Good stuff.

About the skirted counter: Mom and Nina headed over to Wally World and purchased a 20 dolla paisley sheet set by Better Homes and Gardens.

I whipped out my sewing machine and used the fitted sheet to create a skirt. The elastic was perfect for a gathered effect. I hemmed up the sides and bottom-- and wala! You will see very soon where the rest of the paisley sheet set ended up...

*Just FYI, our butcher table will be next to the skirted end of the counter as soon as I get a chance to pick it up from the beach. Reedo was forced to leave it behind since the truck filled up a little earlier than anticipated. Boo.

I think it will be a perfect little space to play on the computer and take care of other important Biz-Nas.

Next Before/After project coming soon!

Please excuse my mess on the counters, btw. I have a toddler.